Kairos
by ChibiKarasu54
Summary: The Giant War did not go as planned. Everyone has fallen and only one demigod is left standing. Nico di Angelo has been entrusted with the fate of the mortal and immortal worlds by the gods themselves. Can Nico complete this monumental quest, or will he be overwhelmed with the task of facing his past in the most literal sense? Time Travel AU.
1. Good-bye World

Nico di Angelo's life was a mess and he'd be the first person to tell you that.

After his mother was killed by Zeus, his memory wiped away by the River Lethe, was placed in a hotel that displaced him in time, discovered he was a demigod, his sister died, was misguided by an evil ghost, was involved in a war by the time he was twelve, got dragged into Tartarus, was imprisoned in a jar without oxygen for a week, and was pretty much ostracized by the whole demigod populace-well, let's just say that by this point in time, he'd accumulated a few issues that ultimately made him incapable of hoping for a better life.

Now he's inadvertently involved in another war and this time, their victory wasn't looking so assured.

They're at the final battle and Nico was exhausted. Hauling a two ton statue across the globe with a Roman Praetor and a crazy satyr with a violent streak did that to people.

Aside from that, he overexerted his shadow traveling powers, almost to the point of becoming a shadow himself. He thanked to any gods that would listen that Reyna and Coach Hedge were there in order to help him recover. Sure, he might've disliked the fact that he showcased his whole life to them when he was busy getting rid of Bryce Lawrence, (and that was just another can of worms he did _not_ want to open) but he can at least admit that the recompense for that much surpassed his initial feelings.

He gained a new sister and Coach Hedge had become an odd familial figure. Sort of like the crazy uncle no one talked about, except this one had goat legs and was married to a cloud nymph.

Will Solace, son of Apollo and the source of Nico's skeletal butterflies, was also to thank. He had decided that he'll stay at Camp Half-Blood, maybe venture into that tentative friendship that was forming between him and Jason, perhaps finally confess his unrequited feelings to that stupid Son of Poseidon, and maybe-just maybe-finally get over Percy Jackson and put more thought on those skeletal butterflies.

Nico dodged a stray arrow, parrying his sword against a spear that an ogre was wielding. He ducked under the ogre's arm and stabbed him with his Stygian Iron blade, the cold metal sucking away at the ogre's essence.

' _Of course, I have to still be alive for all of this to happen.'_

And right about now, all of his hopes seemed really unlikely to become true. Despite the renewed vigor that both camps had gained after the Seven had arrived in a blazing Argo II, their spirits were slowly getting crushed. Demigods were dropping like flies, casualties equally devastating on both camps. He saw Pollux go down five minutes ago, surrounded by a vicious pack of dracaena while the Stolls tried to desperately distract them with Greek fire.

Nico's ears had a constant ringing to them now, the souls of the recently departed being made aware to him in the form of a high pitch ringing. It was disorienting, making him almost stumble into the jaws of an awaiting hellhound. He suddenly wondered where Mrs. O'Leary was and if she was okay. She was one of the few animals that wasn't terrified of him and didn't shy away from his scent that reeked of death.

He had no time to worry about it, however, because suddenly the anguished scream of a demigod in obvious distress caught his attention. He turned, trying to spot the source through hundreds of bodies, human or not, when a disheveled Son of Poseidon approached him. His lips were set in a firm line, brow furrowed and fists clenched, his normally bright sea green eyes clouded with anger and despair. Nico was suddenly filled with a sense of dread and horrible déjà vu.

"Nico! You…you need to come. It's…Hazel."

Hazel. Nico couldn't believe he wasn't keeping track of his sister. By the time Percy had finished speaking, Nico was already at the other side of the war zone, shadow traveling despite the present danger of turning into a shadow himself.

Once he stepped out of the shadows, startling a few monsters and demigods alike, Nico swiveled his head back and forward, trying to pinpoint the location of Hazel's life force through all of the madness. When he couldn't immediately locate her, panic started settling in. The only reason as to why he couldn't locate her would be is she's…

"No!"

He screamed the word out loud, desperately trying to convince himself that Hazel couldn't be…she couldn't be _dead_! Before he began hyperventilating, he spotted a giant mammoth stomping on monsters, always staying in one place and never straying far from it. Nico felt a bit of hope surge through him. If anyone else besides Nico would know where Hazel was at, then it surely would be Frank. He hacked and slashed his way through, gold dust covering him from head to toe once he reached Frank's side.

Nico tried to call out to him but Frank didn't seem to hear him. He was ferociously stomping, slashing, biting-not stopping and letting out deafening roars whenever possible. Nico was just about to summon a few skeletons in order to get Frank's attention when his ADHD senses made him notice he had stepped on a squelchy red liquid. He dragged his eyes up to the source, already dreading and knowing what he was going to see.

It was Hazel. Her cinnamon colored locks were matted with drying blood and mud. Her small frame was crumpled, her barely perceptible breathing inciting relief within Nico. He dashed towards her and collapsed on his knees once he reached her. He paid no mind to the squelch his jeans made once they were in contact with the red liquid.

He noticed that his hands were shaking once he had placed them on Hazel's shoulders and clenched them harshly, trying to stop the motion. The rough treatment dragged a pained groan from between Hazel's blood crusted lips. Nico unclenched his fists rapidly but didn't let go. He shook her gently, trying to get her to wake up without injuring her further.

Hazel blinked her golden eyes open, the haze disappearing from them once she registered that it was her brother that was holding her. She smiled weakly.

"N-Nico, what're y-you doing here?" Her voice was raspy, as if she hadn't spoken in years.

Now that Nico was right next to her, he could sense her life force. It was alarmingly small, her once healthy aura diminished to a barely flickering flame. Nico trembled again, knowing with the certainty that comes from being the Son of Death that Hazel wouldn't make it. Nico didn't have any ambrosia on him and he couldn't get a medic out in the field in time. He couldn't shadow travel her either, knowing that the unsteady trip will only worsen her wounds.

Looking into Hazel's warm eyes, he could see that she knew all of this too. She was the Daughter of Death as well, after all. With that final assurance that her death was unavoidable, Nico shed tears. He wailed, the anguish of losing a sister for the second time being too much for him to take. He clutched onto Hazel, sobbing into her shoulder. Hazel's arms weakly wound around him, clutching him as tightly as she was able to. She murmured 'I love you's' into his ear, saying how glad she was the she was able to meet him and how proud she was of being his sister. She told him to say good-bye to the others for her and to please not let her death regress him into bitterness.

Nico heard all this and nodded, taking heaving breaths and trying to stop the flow of tears. He gathered enough of his wits to mutter one last, "I love you Hazel" before the light that always resided within Hazel's eyes snuffed out, her soul being freed from her body and heading towards the E-Z Deadline. He knew his father would make sure Hazel reached Elysium and that was enough for Nico to stop crying.

Yes, he'd be able to see her still. He could visit her and know that Hazel wouldn't have to worry about being safe ever again.

That didn't stop him from feeling the all-consuming rage that coursed through his entire being. He raised his body, willing the shadows to place Hazel inside the Hades cabin, knowing that the damage caused by the travel wouldn't matter anymore.

He thought about Hazel's smile, Hazel's warm golden eyes. He thought about every instance they spent time together. He thought about leading her out through the Doors of Death, finding a home for her in Camp Jupiter, thought about all those times they were up on Pluto's shrine.

He thought about Hazel's last words.

"I love you Nico. Be safe."

And the ground trembled beneath him.

Everyone paused for a moment, fearing that all was lost and Gaea had already awakened. When they didn't see the primordial goddess rise out of the earth, they looked around in confusion until they spotted the source. For some, the sight was more terrifying than Mother Earth herself.

The sky darkened, the temperature dropped below zero, making everyone's breath visible and caused frost and ice to form on every surface. The ground continued to tremble, shifting and making everyone curse and loose their footing. The first skeletons arose out of he ground, skin shriveled and falling. The corpses were wearing Greek and Roman armor and about a thousand more different outfits, ranging from the Edo period to British red coats.

And in the center of it all, Nico di Angelo stood.

* * *

Jason, having been alerted that Nico was the cause of all of this, soared above the crowd in order to get a high vantage point and locate his friend. He looked around and before he could even spot Nico, his breath hitched. The amount of fear aura radiating off of Nico almost made Jason fall right out of the sky and right into a pack of telekhines. Not that it would have mattered, since the telekhines themselves fled at the first whiff they got off of Nico's terrifying aura.

By steeling his nerves with all the Roman training he has been exposed to, Jason managed to remain afloat, if only barely. He was sure that if he were on the ground right now his knees would be shaking so hard that he'd knock himself to the floor.

It took all of Jason's focus and concentration to try and look into his friend's direction one more time.

And he promptly fell out of the sky and collided hard with the blood soaked ground.

Nico was raised at least two feet above the rest of the crowd on a makeshift pedestal made out of the earth itself. Tendrils of shadows slithered off of his form and crawled towards him simultaneously.

Deep cracks on the earth were all around him, hell fire roaring out of the openings. Spectral light illuminated Nico's face, accentuating his eye bags and transforming his features into a terrifying image. Simply looking in Nico's direction intensified the fear aura into unbearable amounts, to the point of causing monsters to flee in a wild panic.

Jason fought against fears' hold over him, managing to stand. A foolish monster with a death wish charged at Nico. The Son of Hades did not even glance at its direction. When the monster was a mere swing away from Nico, the monster disintegrated into particles.

The Son of Jupiter's throat constricted and it seemed that everyone present gave a gulp in unison. He wasn't sure how Nico managed to simply _disintegrate_ a monster, but not for the first time was Jason glad that Nico was on their side. Time stood still and no one dared to breathe. Nico looked down and stared into a bloody puddle, seemingly content to stare at it for the rest of his life.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, making Jason jump and almost slice off an arm. What stopped him was the orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. It was Percy, looking ragged and grim. His whole body was shaking, his face turned away determinately from Nico. Jason could sympathize. He didn't think he could look at Nico one more time without passing out in fear.

"Do you have any idea why he's like this?" If Jason's voice cracked and trembled, Percy didn't mention. Percy let out one shaky word laced with terror and anguish.

"Hazel."

And suddenly it was enough for Jason to understand.

He didn't bother preventing the tears from falling down his eyes. He wasn't going to stop Nico-not now that he knew Hazel was _dead_. He took a deep breath and faced the Son of Hades.

"Nico!"

The name boomed across the battlefield, managing to barely catch Nico's attention. The boy-no, man. The man looked up and met Jason's eyes.

Jason gave him a look of sadness, understanding, anguish, and fear. He nodded.

That's all it took for the Son of Hades to let loose.

The ground exploded, the skeletal warrior attacked, shadows sucked in monsters into the abyss, Underworld creatures were summoned, and the ground opened and buried monsters by the hundreds. And Nico di Angelo hacked and slashed, disintegrating every monster in his path, literally.

Percy and Jason soon joined him. They all shared a similar pain and needed to let out their anger at the world.

* * *

Mother Earth eventually did rise, threatening the whole planet with destruction. The sons of the Big Three united in a final stand against the Earth Mother.

Demigods kept on dying and so did the monsters. It was a useless slaughter.

Nico kept on fighting, despite the fact that he felt Frank die, felt Leo die, and felt Reyna fall with her faithful hounds. Despite the fact that Annabeth was overwhelmed and Percy screamed to the skies in anguish. Nico fought on until no one else could.

It was just him left. Him and Gaea.

The primordial goddess had risen some time ago, before Piper went down and after Will Solace died.

The Earth Mother laughed, knowing that her victory was assured. Nico knew this to be true. He was on the verge of collapsing, but he couldn't let Hazel down. He couldn't let Jason down either, not after watching him die after recklessly plunging into a group of laestrygonian giants when he witnessed Piper's death.

Nico prayed to any and all gods that were listening.

' _Dad, Lord Poseidon, Lord Zeus, Lady Hestia, Lord Dionysus, Lord Apollo, Lady Artemis, Lady Aphrodite, Lord Hephaestus, Lord Ares, Lady Athena, Lady Hera. Please, give me the strength to change all of this. To prevent any of this from ever happening. I am the last standing demigod and it is my duty to stop Gaea.'_

When nothing happened, Nico grimly readied himself, prepared to go out fighting until the very end. He raised his Stygian Iron sword, moved the shadows, controlled the earth, commanded the dead-and then time stopped.

Now, Nico might have felt that this final battle was epic enough to deserve dramatic pauses, but he didn't think the world would literally _stop_.

"Son."

Nico jumped at the sound of his father's voice. He turned and almost screamed on the spot. All of the twelve Olympians, including other gods he had encountered (Eros, the sleazy bastard) were there. All of them-and Nico was overwhelmed.

"Dad? What's going on?"

It probably wasn't a good idea to not address any other of the gods first before asking questions, but Nico figured that it didn't matter if he was going to end up dead via mud-bath anyway.

Hades stepped forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Although he might not be the optimal parent, right now Hades tried his outmost best to show through his features how proud he was of his son.

"Nico, we have heard your prayers and we are here in order to grant your wish."

The Son of Hades looked astonished. The gods were _actually_ going to do their job and listen to mortals?

His thoughts must have been written all over his face based on the thunderous (ha) expression on Zeus's godly face. Before Zeus could strike Nico down with a righteous lightning bolt, Apollo cut in, "You see sweet-heart, some of us godly beings finally realized that we can't live on without anyone left to worship us." The Sun god shot Nico a blinding smile, forcing him to fight down the blush that threatened to rise on his face.

' _He looks a lot like Will Solace…'_

The thought of the Son of Apollo sobered Nico soon enough. He stared at all the gods gathered here and looked back at his father.

"Are you going to fight against Gaea?"

Hades opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Aphrodite. "Oh no honey! How could we? My new manicure will get ruined!"

Nico couldn't stop the wave of anger that overtook him. If they weren't going to fight alongside him, then what good were they?!

Before voicing out his thoughts and possibly getting incinerated on the spot, Lady Hestia spoke, "Young demigod, what we're about to grant you has never been attempted since the creation of the gods."

Nico shut his mouth, still angry but curious enough to let it simmer. Besides, he respected Lady Hestia and he wasn't about to snap at her.

"Although you wouldn't have been my first choice," Hera sneered at him, "there is no denying that you, Son of Hades, are the optimal demigod for this mission." Hera looked disgruntled, like the words she spoke were unwillingly dragged out of her mouth.

Artemis nodded in agreement. "I do not make it a habit to favor men, but you may just be the exception. You are certainly as brave as any of my hunters." Artemis's face hardened, most likely thinking of all her fallen hunters back in San Juan and those who managed to make it to the battle, including her fallen lieutenant, Thalia Grace.

Nico might've felt flattered, but he still had no idea as to what they were all referring to.

"Thank you for thinking of me in that way Lady Artemis, but could you please explain to me what all of you are talking about?"

It was Zeus who spoke this time, "Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, Ambassador of Pluto, Ghost King, and Savior of Olympus."

' _Savior of Olympus? Since when was I considered a_ savior _?'_

Nico's alarm bells were ringing, warning him that despite all the apparent flattery Zeus was giving him, the price for such a thing would _not_ be pretty.

"We will grant you your wish in the only way we can. Right now we are weakened. The death of our demigod children has robbed us of most of our power."

Now that Zeus mentioned it, Nico could sense it. Their power, while still impressive, was nothing compared to Gaea's might. Things were really direr than Nico had thought.

"That is why, young demigod, we will attempt something that has never been done before." That was Hephaestus. His serious countenance relayed how much of a big thing this was.

That still didn't stop him from wondering though. And worrying. Mostly worrying. He looked at his father uncertainly, not sure if he was up for this challenge. Hades' stony face said nothing, but his reassuring nod sure as hell did. Bracing himself, he turned to Zeus and nodded.

"I accept this task."

The gods all looked relieved, like they were about to get killed but Nico had just agreed to sacrifice himself in their stead. For all he knew, he might actually end up sacrificing himself for their continued existence.

"But I still need to know what you all are planning."

Instead of the gods answering this time, three old, ancient looking, wrinkled bags of skin stepped forward. He noticed how some of the gods shuffled out of their way, shifting nervously in their places. When they were standing in front of him, he realized with startling clarity that these grandmas were the _Fates_.

Nico was genuinely afraid now. If the Fates were involved, then he had no chance of coming out of this alive.

"Nico di Angelo. You will be transported back to the past. Back when your demigod life began."

Their voices were grimace inducing, like sharp nails getting dragged across a chalkboard. Getting past the sound of their combined voices though, Nico finally registered what was said to him. His eyes widened in disbelief and he stumbled backwards, barely managing to not fall flat on his ass.

"B-Back in _time_?!" Nico was _not_ proud of how his voice cracked at the last word, but he figured that it didn't matter anyway. He was entitled to feel as shocked and disbelieving as he was feeling right now.

The Fates ignored his flustered blundering.

"We shall send you to the past and it is your goal to prevent any of this bloodshed from ever occurring. Beware Son of Hades, that if you fail, there will be no third chance."

The Fates retreated after that cheerful good-bye. Seriously, even Nico wasn't _that_ depressing.

Still too shocked and terrified to even speak, Nico looked frantically from god to god. All of them looked serious and not joking in the least. Even Apollo, cheery and usually laid back, was grimly staring at him.

Nico gulped ad suppressed his trembling. He couldn't appear as terrified as he felt. It surely wouldn't reassure the gods the he was capable of doing this.

And honestly? Nico felt the he was severely lacking in experience or training to go on this type of monumental task. Although he doubted that anything could have prepared him for this quest.

Now that he thought about it, this was his very first quest.

Sure, he'd gone and helped save Olympus a few times, but that was during other people's quests. Like Percy's or Jason's or the rest of the Seven. Nico was just kind of the tag along that occasionally saved everyone's lived through tasks no one else could have done.

This was _his_ official quest-given to him personally by the gods and the Fates themselves-and he was _not_ going to fail.

With renewed determination, Nico looked at each and every one of them in the eye and nodded resolutely.

As if that was all they had been waiting for, all of the gods formed a circle around Nico, their hands outstretched and pointed at him. They began chanting in Ancient Greek, using dialects so old that Nico couldn't make out half of what they were saying. Godly light emanated from their whole beings, slowly slithering its way to the center of the circle.

Nico could feel the pull of their combined powers, slowly shredding his existence and almost driving him crazy. He looked at his father one last time, not knowing if he was going to see him again or ever have the amiable relationship they had now. Hades met his eyes and gave Nico one rare, proud smile that almost brought Nico to tears.

Finally, the chanting stopped and the light increased to blinding proportions. Before the light completely overwhelmed Nico, he caught an inconspicuous wink from Eros.

' _Oh_ fuck _no.'_

The sudden feeling of foreboding that had nothing to do with traveling back in time was all he had time to feel before Nico di Angelo's reality shattered.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys! It's been a while and I'm _so_ sorry that I haven't posted the next chapter for _The Learning Of_. I won't make excuses, but just be on the lookout for the new chapter, yeah?

Anyways, this is just a little idea I've had for a while. I've read some time travel fics before, but _none of them have been completed_. So I decided that I'll make my own time travel fic and be sure to finish it. Tell me what you guys think and thanks for reading!


	2. Nico Drives the Sun

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor Heroes of Olympus or any of its characters**

* * *

"…co"

Nico slowly came to, his head swimming and pounding with a massive headache.

"…Ni..co.."

 _'Ugh, who's calling me? Can't they see I'm suffering right now?'_

Nico slowly opened his eyes, the blinding snow he saw forcing him to snap them shut again. He felt two hands shaking his shoulders, trying to rouse him out of his stupor.

"…co…Nico!"

At hearing who exactly was so frantically calling his name, Nico finally snapped his eyes open, disregarding how much they ached.

"Nico, are you alright?"

Nico observed the speaker in a kind of numb shock. Their dark brown locks fell gracefully around her shoulders. Olive skin was flushed with cold and a green floppy hat was placed on top of her head.

"Snap out of it Nico!"

Nico did finally snap out of it, but not because he was yelled at. No, that wasn't it. What snapped him out of it was that he finally registered who was talking to him. A certain someone that he thought he'd never see again.

"B-Bianca?"

Said person huffed, brown eyes looking at him in annoyance. "C'mon Nico, let's get inside the bus."

Nico looked past her incomprehensibly, still too shocked to say much. He spotted Apollo chatting up pissed looking Hunters and saw Percy and Grover looking to be in serious conversation. He saw the sun chariot, converted into a bus, and saw Thalia Grace grumpily observing Artemis's Hunters and _holy crap it actually worked_.

A tug on his wrist had him stumbling after his sister. His not so dead sister. His sister who was _alive_ and _breathing_ and not under a pile of scrap metal. The tears that sprung to his eyes came unbidden, forcing him to hastily wipe them away. He observed his hand in wonder once he had finished. They were smaller than what he was used to and their natural olive skin tone was restored.

He looked down at the rest of his body and found himself losing his breath again. He was back to his ten year old self and he was not okay.

Having Bianca alive and well was too much for him. After finally accepting her death and her decision to reincarnate, to see her again after all that—it crushed him.

Before he could completely break down in tears and clutch Bianca tightly to him, he was herded inside the bus alongside everyone else. He sat in front of the bus and watched as Bianca left him there and go back to the Hunters. Despite having been through this same exact scene before, it didn't stop him from feeling a pang of hurt from watching his sister walk away from him.

He stopped himself from reaching out to her and begging her to stay with him. Instead he forced himself to listen to Apollo, who had begun talking a while ago.

"Daughter of Zeus," he said. "Lord of the Sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

While everyone else was left contemplating that sad truth of that statement, Nico was internally worried. He knew of Thalia's fear of heights and he didn't feel like almost dying and torching London. Again.

"H-Hey, how about I drive?"

Nico felt like a complete idiot when they all turned to stare at him. There was no way Apollo was going to let him drive the sun chariot.

"Sorry kid. Too young."

Nico deflated and sneaked a look at Thalia. Her tense stance was back and she was shaking ever so slightly. Seeing her so afraid like that wasn't comforting and he was sure that if Jason was here, he wouldn't force Thalia to drive this thing.

Thinking of Jason and what he would've wanted spurred Nico on. This was the least he could do for his fallen friend.

"I can totally drive! In fact, I bet I could get us faster to Camp—to…uh, to that camp you guys were talking about than _you_ can!"

Okay, so betting against a god might not have been the best of ideas. He wasn't lying when he said he could drive. He may have had Jules-Albert as his chauffeur, but that didn't prevent Nico from learning how to drive for himself.

Not that his driving knowledge seem to matter, though. Percy and Thalia were staring at him like he was crazy and Grover was looking back and forward from him to Apollo nervously. Peaking at the Hunters, he could see they were amused. Not his sister though. She looked about ready to drag him by the ear and force him to sit next to her.

Looking back at Apollo, he hoped that the god's pride wasn't damaged and smite Nico for his sacrilege. Instead, Apollo looked as amused as the Hunters. More, actually. Nico knew Apollo was probably thinking along the lines of _'this kid is too stupid to know who he's talking to.'_

"Oh yeah, short stuff? And what would you be willing to bet?"

It was clear that Apollo was just playing along with him, not taking him seriously at all.

"Oh, um…I'd bet…" Nico had no idea what was good enough for a wager between him and the Sun God. All he had were the clothes on his back and the pack of Mythomagic cards in his pocket. If only he still had access to his room back in the Underworld, then he'd be able to bet something of worth.

Now that he thought back on it, his valuables really wouldn't count as such to the god. All he owned—used to own—was death related and he didn't think Apollo would appreciate that.

When it seemed that Apollo was about to drop the charade, Nico came up with a risky offer.

"I'll lead you to the future host of the Oracle of Delphi."

Apollo's playful face fell into seriousness. Thalia and Percy looked confused and Zoe looked scandalized. He avoided looking at his sister because he just _knew_ that once he caught her eye, he'd be unable to deny her whatever she demanded.

"Now now short stuff, what you're suggesting is some serious info. How would you know the future Oracle of Delphi?"

' _Well you see, I come from the future myself and I've already met said Oracle of Delphi. We get along okay-especially after she threw that hair brush at Kronos's eye—and I think her man cave is super chill.'_

He couldn't just out and _say_ that. He went with the most believable of explanations.

"I had a dream."

Percy and Thalia nodded like it all made sense. Apollo still looked skeptical and so did Zoe.

"That makes sense. Demigods usually have dreams that reveal important events," Percy explained.

Nico nodded back at him, trying to place a 'wow, that's so cool!' expression on his face. He knew he'd been acting out of character. If he remembered correctly, right about now was the time where he'd be animatedly asking questions to Apollo and not bartering with him in exchange for quelling Thalia's fear.

Apollo studied him for another tense filled minute before he cautiously accepted his offer.

"Okay kid, you're on. And let's say you do somehow manage to win. What would you like in return?"

Nico thought about that. He really couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.

"How about you'll just owe me a favor, yeah?"

Apollo grinned and nodded in agreement. "You've got a deal kid. Do we need to swear this in the River Styx?"

Nico shook his head. "I'll trust you to keep that promise."

Apollo laughed and dragged him out of his seat and on to the driver's seat. "Go on ahead then."

Nico could barely see above the wheel and his legs just managed to reach the accelerator. He gripped the wheel nervously and gulped. He never thought he'd drive the _Sun Chariot_. He suddenly had the urge to completely geek out and gush about how many attack points the Apollo card gained by using his sun chariot as defense.

Nico ruthlessly stomped on that urge. _'Thalia_ so _owes me for this.'_

He slowly moved the gear shift to 'drive' and cautiously stepped on the accelerator.

"No way! Nico, get off of there right now!" Bianca shouted.

Nico startled forward and almost drove the bus right off the cliff. He looked back and sheepishly smiled when the Hunters glared at his blunder. Looking back at his sister, he saw her determinately marching towards him. He swiveled his head towards Thalia and Percy and mentally begged them to stop her.

Apparently, Thalia and Percy could not read minds. They just stared at him dumbly. Nico sighed in frustration and wildly motioned to his sister. They finally seemed to get the message and they unceremoniously pushed Grover to intercept her.

"H-Hey Bianca! Do you like enchiladas?"

While his sister tried to push her way past the satyr, Apollo leaned towards him and mock whispered, "You know, if you ever want to win this, you should take off now. Just know that my record from here to Long Island is 5.5 minutes."

Nico stared at him astonished. Apollo winked at him and slapped his back.

"Get to it kid."

Nico glared at the god. He's getting really tired of being called 'kid'. He may be back to his ten year old body but he was still the motherfucking _Ghost King._

With a wicked grin, Nico slammed the gas pedal and dived off the cliff.

* * *

Percy stumbled off the bus and resisted the urge to kiss the ground. "That kid is crazy…" he mumbled.

Against all impossible odds, Nico di Angelo had managed to beat the 5.5 minute record Apollo had previously made. Apollo had seemed astonished by the outcome, but thankfully he was not astonished in a bad way. If he was, Percy was pretty sure that Nico would be a pile of ashes right about now.

Speaking of Nico, Percy saw the kid slowly exit the bus, looking a bit a pale and woozy. He couldn't blame him. That ride was as nauseating as it could get. Driving that thing must've been anxiety inducing, considering that if he crashed the sun chariot, he'd have a really angry god after his head.

Percy might have been a bit jealous and disbelieving when he saw a ten year old kid was able to drive—and drive the sun chariot, to boot. Percy was four years older than Nico was and he'd been thinking of learning how to drive recently, but he'd never had the chance. And here came this ten year old kid, driving a flying car like it was no big deal. He still couldn't figure out when Nico even had the time to learn how to drive, let alone even be allowed to get near a steering wheel.

Not only that, but he had sensed a sudden shift in Nico a while ago.

When he first met him, Nico was all questions and excited babble. But around the time they all got inside the bus, Nico seemed to have retreated into himself, looking at everything around him in wonder. That was to be expected though. The di Angelo siblings have just been introduced to a whole new world.

"Hey Perce, were you listening?"

Percy snapped out of his thoughts when his best friend Grover nudged him on the side.

"Huh?"

Grover looked at him worriedly and told him again, "I said that we're going to go introduce Nico and Bianca to Chiron and that we might as well tell him about what happened to Annabeth."

Percy sobered at the thought of Annabeth. He nodded at Grover and followed him along with Thalia and the di Angelo siblings. They needed to come up with a game plan in order to rescue Annabeth. Percy was not going to let her die because of his careless mistakes.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Percy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

He turned to Nico and sobered a bit before regaining back his 100 kilowatt smile. "Nico di Angelo! I'll be waiting for you to call in your favor. Don't die before you do, yeah?" Apollo gave Nico a teasing grin before hopping back into his red Maserati and driving off into the sky.

Nico looked a bit miffed. Percy would be miffed too, if he was told not to die despite being a demigod that is surrounded by the danger of dying most of the time. They continued on after that.

Once they reached the Big House, they were able to spot Chiron and Mr. D sitting on the parlor, quietly playing cards.

Chiron smiled when he saw us. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

"Nico di Angelo," Percy said. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

"Well…"

His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice. "Not another one lost."

Soon after that, Grover burst into the room and was commanded to take Nico to watch their orientation film.

"Oh, um…I'd rather not see it. I think I already know anything there is to know about Greek mythology."

Chiron looked at him questioningly. Nico rubbed the back of his head and a small blush appeared on his cheeks. "I…uh, I play Mythomagic. It's a game about all the Greek gods and goddesses and monsters. So far, it's been pretty accurate."

Chiron seemed reluctant. He didn't want Nico to hear any of the following information. Percy figured Chiron didn't want to scare Nico with all the bad news that they were sure to discuss.

The centaur was about to send Nico out anyway when the kid spoke up again, "Look, I know you guys are going to talk about that Annabeth chick, right?"

Chiron nodded at him reluctantly. "Then I should be allowed to listen in on this too. She was captured because she was sent to rescue my sister and I so it's partially my fault that she's in that situation."

"Nico man, it wasn't your fault Annabeth got captured. It was just bad circumstances." Grover tried to explain.

Nico shook his head stubbornly and crossed his arms resolutely. It was clear he wasn't going anywhere unless he was physically forced out of here.

"Let Rico de Angeles stay if he wants. It's not like the kid isn't going to be hearing of this anyway." Mr. D drawled out.

Chiron assented with a sigh and Nico smugly sat down on a chair while watching the proceedings.

Percy might have not known the kid for long, but he had a feeling that Nico di Angelo had many ways into getting what we wanted. Which didn't make sense to Percy, because what could an unclaimed ten year old demigod even be capable of? He was practically harmless.

Percy was not aware of it now, but soon he'll come to question what the hell he was thinking when he dubbed Nico di Angelo as 'harmless'.

* * *

Nico quietly snuck out of the Hermes cabin late that night.

He needed some thinking to do and being surrounded by the sons and daughters of the God of Thieves wasn't an optimal thinking atmosphere.

Nico headed to Thalia's tree and slowly climbed up until he reached a high enough branch to go unnoticed by anyone. He sat there and contemplated.

So. The whole traveling back in time thing actually worked and now he was stuck with all these possibilities but with no idea what to do.

How was he supposed to go with this? Should he tell anyone? Seek guidance from someone? Who would he even ask? So far, it seemed that none of the gods he's met have recognized him or even given a hint that they knew about his quest. He was completely alone with his knowledge and the fact that he couldn't turn to anyone for aid reinforced his solitude.

"It's not like I'm not used to being alone…" he mumbled to himself.

It was true. Nico was alone before and he's alone now. Nothing has changed—except for the fact that _everything_ has changed—and Nico could deal with it. Besides, he had his sister again and that alone made him feel ten times better.

Although, knowing that Hazel was not alive yet made his heart twist painfully. He couldn't be fully content until _both_ of his sisters were alive and well.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He'll worry about Hazel later. She was currently in the Fields of Asphodel and no harm could go to her there. Right now, he had more present problems to deal with.

Like how many of his powers were left.

Nico concentrated and let himself feel the presence of everyone in camp. He could still detect auras, it seemed, and that alone was a relief. He could keep track of everyone and that was a huge reassurance. Not knowing where everyone he cared about was will slowly drive Nico into paranoia.

Nico hopped off the branch he was on and landed in a crouch. He winced when his leg muscles screamed in protest. A disadvantage of having an underdeveloped body, it seemed, was the underdeveloped muscles. Nico might have not been an Adonis back when he was in his old body, but he had enough muscle to prove his experience as a veteran demigod.

Now all he had was baby fat and that was not reassuring in the least. He needed to regain all his stamina, too, if he wanted to stay alive in all the quests to come.

Nico rubbed his thighs distractedly while placing a hand on the ground. He reached out with his senses until he found the bones of a dead squirrel. It took a bit more effort than Nico was used to, but he managed to reanimate the previously dead animal. The squirrel squeaked at him before running around in circles and climbed up to the nearest tree.

Nico watched it go and absently thought that he should probably send it back to where it was but figured a squirrel made out of bones wouldn't cause much trouble for anyone. He shrugged and went back to concentrating on the ground.

He wondered if he could still summon a skeleton army. By the time he managed to summon only five skeletons Nico was panting and sweating like crazy. He looked up at the perpetually grinning skulls and tried to regain his breath.

' _Damn, and to I used summon_ hundreds _…'_

Clearly, he needed to work on his stamina. Summoning more than five will completely drain him and make him useless in a fight. Nico sighed and wobbly stood up. He thanked the skeletons for heeding his call and sent them back to their resting place. They, in turn, saluted him and dissembled into bones and sunk into the earth.

Shadow traveling was out of the question right now. It seemed that he still had control of most of his powers, but his limit was way lower than it used to be. If he tried shadow traveling right now, he'd probably end up in China again. Nico controlled some shadows to see if he still could, and it seemed that he can, based on how the moon light faded and darkness dominated the area.

He stomped on the ground and a satisfying rumble answered back. Good, it seems his control over the earth was still there, even if it was minimal. He slumped exhaustedly against Thalia's tree and wondered what else he was missing. His sword, obviously. He couldn't get ahold of it now until he met his father again.

Thinking of meeting his father brought a whole new wave of anxiousness. The first time was bad enough, but having to go through it again? Now that was just unfair. Not that the word 'fair' had ever applied to him, but still. Couldn't the gods cut him a little slack?

He sighed again and thought back to the final battle. He couldn't remember everything clearly after witnessing Hazel's death, but the one thing he could remember was the sensation of grasping into the basest composition of what made up everyone. Seeing as he had control over the earth as well, he knew that everything was made up of dust. Bones, earth, _skin_.

What he had done to the monsters, how he _disintegrated_ them. It terrified him, this power that was unlocked in the midst of battle. If he could disintegrate monsters, than imagine what he could do to demigods or even humans? The possibilities alone terrified Nico. To have that sort of power over anyone was not something Nico wished he had.

' _As if I wasn't enough of a freak already, now I can destroy people down to their molecules.'_

The bitterness of that thought didn't surprise him. He already scared anyone who came near him. This power will only ostracize him more.

Deciding that he had enough thinking for one night, Nico retreated back to his bunk in the crowded Hermes cabin. He needed to regain all his strength if he was going to be useful in tomorrow's Capture the Flag game against the Hunters. Knowing what was going to happen already certainly gave him an advantage. He couldn't wait to beat them at this game for the first time in Camp history.

Laying down and closing his eyes in exhaustion, Nico couldn't help thinking of one little silly thought.

' _With great power, comes great need to take a nap.'_

* * *

 **A/N:** Here's the second chapter! I'm in Spring Break right now and I figured I'll have more time to write so expect another chapter by the end of the week.

Next Chapter: Hunters vs Campers!


	3. I Hate Capture the Flag

A/N: Nico's badass. The end. Jk, keep on reading.

* * *

"Nico di Angelo, you cannot fail."

The previously blank setting changed to one that was horrifyingly familiar.

Demigods laid dead at his feet, their bloodied and decimated bodies almost driving Nico to lose his breakfast. Beyond them, Gaea was wreaking havoc across the continent. Nico could see it. Landslides and earthquakes were devastating city after city. People were screaming and monsters were spreading chaos.

Soon enough the whole world was under the wrath of the primordial goddess. The relentless attacks and a death toll that numbered on the millions left the gods weak and defenseless. Soon, they were overwhelmed by Gaea and banished from existence.

One by one, every god that had sided with the Olympians were consumed by the earth itself and dragged into Tartarus to spend their days in literal hell.

Nico witnessed Olympus falling and the terrifying image of the earth rising.

Just before the apocalyptic scenes drove Nico to madness, everything seemed to vanish into dust and only a black void was left behind. This unnerved Nico almost as much as witnessing Gaea's bestow destruction upon both the mortal and immortal worlds.

Then the Fates appeared in all their wrinkly glory.

"You must begin to act if you want to save your future." They shrank back into the abyss, slowly disappearing from view.

"Wait!" Nico shouted, only his voice seemed to be sucked into the void, making it impossible for the Fates to hear him. He had a lot of questions and he couldn't let them leave without answering.

It was all for naught though. The Fates continued to get fade until all he could see was a faint blur. The last thing he heard was, "Act now Nico di Angelo, before all is lost."

And Nico woke up with a gasp.

He looked at his surroundings, his body shaking while his chest heaved trying to get some oxygen in his system.

He was still in the Hermes cabin and it wasn't in shambles like his dream suggested. It seemed like he was the only one there at the moment. Everybody else was probably having breakfast at the pavilion. Bianca was probably there too. That was enough for Nico to get out of his bunk and get dressed.

If that dream wasn't a hint for Nico to get his shit together, then he didn't know what was.

The Fates were already urging him to do something, so Nico figured that everything was really set into motion right about the time and his sister arrived at camp. The only major events he could think of was when the Oracle left her comfy spot at the attic and the upcoming quest to save Artemis and Annabeth.

Nico had thought about it long and hard. He was going to tag along on the quest and there was no one who could stop him. He wasn't going to let his sister die on this quest again.

Nico pulled up his pants and looked distastefully at the orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. He'd only worn this thing back during his first days at camp. The shirt quickly lost its appeal when Percy came back and old him his sister was dead.

He chucked the shirt into a nearby trashcan and discreetly looked around to see if anybody was around. Finding on one, he concentrated on a nearby shadow and reached inside of it with his hand. He retrieved a black t-shirt with a few dancing skeletons on them. Nico put it on and gave a satisfied hum when it fit him perfectly. He finished dressing quickly and reasoned that he'll send some money later to the store he got the shirt from.

Walking towards the pavilion, Nico took note that the Hades table wasn't there yet. He didn't know why he was surprised, but he guesses that after going through all the trouble of getting his father recognized by the Olympians, seeing him excluded again left him feeling stumped.

"Hey kid! Come sit over here!"

Connor Stoll waved him over and Nico reluctantly went with a sigh. He sat on the small space left at the corner of the table next to the Stolls. They grinned at him, making Nico automatically suspicious.

"What." He stated more than questioned when they kept on staring at him expectantly.

"Where you'd get that shirt from?"

Nico looked down at his shirt and shrugged. "I found it."

They looked at him dubiously before sighing in disappointment.

"That's a shame," Travis said.

"Yeah, we had planned the perfect demigod initiation prank," Connor continued with fake sadness coloring his voice.

Nico's eyebrow twitched when he figured out that the Camp Half-Blood shirt he was given was most likely rigged to explode or something equally drastic.

He scowled at them when they simply grinned mischievously at him. He scowled even harder after they did that. They weren't afraid of him at all and that was seriously a bummer. He might've not liked all the bad rep kids of Hades received, but he wasn't going to complain when it gave him a huge intimidating factor. Now, he couldn't even scare a fly.

Or it might be because he looked like a ten year old.

A huff left his lips at that thought. Ten year old or no, he was still _the_ Son of Hades. He smirked when an idea popped in his mind.

"You know, I'm not a big fan of pranks," he mentioned casually.

Connor laughed at him while Travis was grinning like crazy.

"That's too bad kid. You just happen to be living in the same cabin as the Kings of Pranks!"

Nico hummed noncommittally. "Well. I'll just give you guys a warning. The last person who pranked me couldn't sleep for a week." Nico amped up his fear aura, making the temperature drop just enough for it to be noticeable.

The campers seated at the table shifted nervously, their chatter dying out when they all felt anxiousness well up within them.

Nico looked straight at Connor and Travis Stoll, who seemed to have caught on to the atmosphere. They chuckled nervously and scooted away from him. In fact, Nico now had more than a third of the table for himself.

The Stolls couldn't really explain it, but to them, it felt like they were suddenly having a nightmare and it came in the form of this short ten year old kid. The brown in the kid's eyes seems to have been swallowed by the darkness that now resided inside them.

Just as suddenly as the fear entered them, it just as quickly left them when Nico simply grinned at them and went back to eating his breakfast. The Stolls had a feeling that Nico knew what he was doing and that he _enjoyed_ the reaction he'd gained from them. Maybe it was on their best interest to not mess with the kid anymore. Their demigod senses waned them that they would be seriously harmed otherwise.

Not being people who disregarded their ingrained instincts, Connor and Travis made a pact that stated _'Nico di Angelo must not be pranked or we shall perish.'_

* * *

Percy handed Nico a helmet and watched as the kid placed the too big headgear on his head. He wondered if he looked that ridiculous back during his first Capture the Flag game. He hoped not.

He gave the kid a sword and was mildly worried when Nico didn't immediately brake out into hysterics and shouted "cool!" as loud as possible. Seriously, where had all his excitement gone? Instead of freaking out and gushing at all the 'cool' things surrounding the Camp, Nico only critically inspected his sword and shifted it from hand to hand.

"This sword sucks."

Percy almost face palmed at the bluntness of that statement. He almost smacked the kid too, when he saw a few Hephaestus children glaring at them indignantly.

"Nico, that sword was made by the campers here. I'm sure Hephaestus kids have enough skill to make a decent sword."

Nico still looked unconvinced but shrugged eventually. He swung the sword experimentally and made a few slashed at the air. Despite the fact that Nico had probably never held a real sword before, he still had a steady grip and a well-balanced stance.

"Not bad Nico. You're a natural. I think if you practice hard enough, you'll be a pro in no time."

Nico stared at him for a moment before cracking a grin and snickering slightly.

Percy looked puzzled. "What's so funny?"

Nico snickered a bit more before waving him off and taking off to join their team and listen to the game plan.

The Son of Poseidon was a bit miffed at Nico's dismissiveness but shrugged it off and joined him on Thalia's other side.

He tried not to let his aggression show when Thalia bossed him around. _'Really,'_ he thought, _'I guess it's to be expected.'_

Children of the Big Three tended to be the most powerful demigods and naturally, that caused tensions to rise when two children of the Big Three were trying to take the position of leader.

As he headed off to defend the flag with Nico and Beckenford, Percy hoped that things wouldn't go as bad as he felt they were going to go.

* * *

 _'I hate Capture the Flag.'_

This absent thought came to Nico while he sneaked off in an attempt to get the flag—only to see an arrow pierce the ground in front of him.

 _'I mean,_ ' he dodged another arrow, _'why do we even play this?_ ' He tripped on a rock and rolled out of the way when a volley of arrows rained down on the ground he was previously laying on.

 _'The most that can come out of this is someone getting killed.'_ Nico took cover behind a tree and waited until the arrows stopped coming. He peaked around the trunk and hastily retreated when an arrow almost took out his eye. Nico wiped away the blood on his cheek and frowned.

 _'And I don't want to ruin this shirt._ ' He looked down at his new shirt, which was already dusty with a small rip in it. He sighed forlornly and dashed out of his hiding spot, cartwheeling out of the way of the projectiles before flipping over a small trench and continuing onwards as if he didn't just _do_ that.

 _'Damn it, I almost fell in that trench. Stupid body.'_

A hunter jumped off a tree and almost landed on him. Nico discreetly created a hole behind her and unceremoniously pushed her. Her startled shriek as she fell into the ground was ignored.

' _Stupid hunters.'_

A fist to his face sent him knocking into a boulder.

Dazedly he thought, _'Stupid rock. Why is there even a rock here?'_

He dodged the next punch that came flying at him, and winced in sympathy when he heard the tell-tell crack of bones when they hit the stone.

Being a true, tough Hunter of Artemis though, the girl only let out a muffled grunt of pain and continued to pursue him.

Nico gave an impressed whistle—which seemed to piss her off for some reason—and slashed his sword at her. She parried it with her silver bow and whipped out a dagger to try and stab him.

Being an experienced demigod that learned from the best swordsmen in history, Nico managed to prevent her from stabbing him by knocking aside her bow and switching the grip on his sword enough for him to be able to block her jab.

Of course, being stuck in a ten year old body tended not to be the most optimal of physiques. The force of the jab managed to send him tumbling backwards and trip on a root that he _swore_ wasn't there before.

His ADHD senses managed to catch a few stray giggles. Nico growled under his breath as he clumsily got to his feet. Stupid nymphs, shouldn't they be antagonizing some satyrs?

Running away may not be the most courageous or noble of acts, but the sudden intimidating growl that came from within the ominous woods was enough of an encouragement to cause him to run anyway.

"Where are you going?! Don't be a coward and face me!" yelled the Hunter.

Nico gave her the peace sign as he ran away, laughing when he heard her shriek in fright when the monster from the forest presumably attacked her.

He briefly wondered if it was normal to feel such amusement at the expense of someone's bodily health, but quickly brushed it off and reasoned that it didn't matter anyway. Being a demigod certainly wasn't normal, adding this to the long list of weird things in Nico's life wouldn't make much of a difference.

Jumping over a creek, Nico spotted the silver flag on top of a small hill. With a giddiness that he hadn't felt in a while, Nico bounded towards the flag—and was promptly knocked back into the creek.

Spluttering, he broke the surface and gasped in the air that had been unceremoniously knocked out of him. He looked up and was met with the apologetic, yet smug expression of his sister.

"B-Biaca?!"

Bianca smirked at him before frowning in concern.

"What are you doing here? It's too dangerous for you to be this deep in enemy territory."

Nico composed himself when he was reminded of his self-imposed mission. He stepped out of the creek and grumpily squeezed as much water as he could out of his shirt.

"And where did you get that shirt? It's so gloomy. When this game is over I'm getting you a camp shirt."

Although affronted and being indirectly called gloomy, Nico let it go and grinned up at his sister. He'd never had the opportunity to spend time with his sister this way. Both holding weapons on opposite teams, both ready to fight against each other. He wondered if relishing in combat was a children of the Big Three thing.

"Just because you're my sister doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you."

Bianca huffed at his comment, taking out her bow and arrow in the process. "The same goes to you _little_ brother." The stress she put on the word little rankled Nico's nerves. Being called little was just something that irritated Nico whenever it happened, no matter who it came from.

He readied his sword and made a show of charging at Bianca, war cry and everything. He swung his sword downward, making it obvious on where it was going to land. Bianca parried it with her bow easily enough, pushing him back with her superior physical strength.

Nico backed off, trying to think of the easiest way to disarm his sister and get the flag. His moment of distraction cost him. An arrow went flying at him and pinned the sleeve of his shirt deep into the tree behind him. He quickly ripped the sleeve off and got away before Bianca could get near him.

"Aw damn, I liked that shirt."

"Nico! Don't curse like that!" Bianca reprimanded him, sounding scandalized.

Nico blinked owlishly at her before smiling sheepishly. He had forgotten that Bianca did not approve of that kind of language. It was nostalgic enough to almost make Nico hug Bianca instead of blocking the swing of her bow that came at him at that exact moment.

He ducked just in time and kicked Bianca's legs from right under her. She fell with a yelp and got tangled in some vines. Her struggles seemed to onlyget her in even more of a mess.

He left her there and headed towards the flag. The cloth was just at arm's reach when Phoebe jumped from the underbrush and completely body slammed him to the ground. His gasp was choked off as he struggled to breathe under the crushing weight of the Hunter.

Phoebe sneered at him contemptibly and backed up against the flag, guarding it from him and anyone else who got near. Nico kept on heaving, slowly regaining his breath as he stood. He grabbed his fallen sword and started thinking.

The Hunter currently had him outclassed in strength, but Nico was positive that he was faster than her. And besides, he had the powers of Hades on his side. Before he could get carried away though, Nico remembered it wouldn't be a good idea to showcase the powers he did have. He didn't know why it wouldn't be a good idea, but he just had a gut feeling that things would not turn out well for him if he did show his powers so suddenly.

So he went with subtlety. A few changes in the landscape should to the trick. A pit there, a random rock here. After he was done, he lunged at Phoebe and engaged her in combat. Soon enough, the commotion of their fight drew stray Hunter and Campers alike. When the campers saw that Nico was close to the flag, they scrambled to reach it but were intercepted by the Hunters that were already there.

The small clearing they were at soon became a battlefield.

Nico's senses were going haywire, forcing him to concentrate of all the small details around him. It was because of that, that he noticed two more people join the fray. Percy and Thalia.

Unsurprisingly, they looked aggravated and tense. Most likely, the had just been arguing, as was common now a days. They left that behind them at the moment though, once they saw all the commotion.

Nico focused back on his fight when an arrow grazed his flank, leaving behind a red bloody gash. He ducked under Phoebe's arm and slashed at her leg, making her stumble. He spun around her until he was facing her back and slammed the butt of his sword against the back of her head.

The force was enough for Phoebe to be knocked out. Nico didn't bother seeing her fall and sprinted towards the flag.

He had sensed Zoe near their flag a while ago and there weren't many demigods around to stop her.

The flag was surrounded by dueling teens and Nico couldn't see and opening that was big enough for him to go through. He grunted in frustration when he sense Zoe and Beckenford begin to fight. It seemed that he was their last line of defense and he wasn't going to last long at this point.

Finally, he saw a small enough gap for him to squeeze through. He dashed at the small gap and barely managed to not get skewered by a sword when he rolled through. He jumped over a fallen camper and hit the ground running.

Just as he was reaching the flag, a Hunter fell in front of him and if he didn't stop now, his momentum would have him tripping over her and falling flat on his face. Making a quick decision, Nico used the Hunter as a springboard just as she was getting up. Her squawk of indignation went ignored as Nico flipped in mid-air before snatching the sliver flag from its perch and landing on a roll before stopping in a crouch.

The forest seemed to quiet all at once, disbelieving silence reigning over the field. Finally, it was broken when Phoebe, awake and filled with revenge, shouted, "Get the twerp!"

And the commotion began anew. Nico hurriedly launched himself forward and ran like his life depended on it. Arrows and dagger followed after his tracks, impaling themselves on the ground behind him. The cheers and encouragement of the campers followed him as he zig-zagged and dashed and jumped.

He guided himself through Zoe's energy, which was quickly closing the distance between them.

Suddenly, the lieutenant of the Hunter of Artemis appeared from the foliage, the camp flag clutched tightly in her hand. She skidded to a halt once she saw Nico speed past her, campers and hunters chasing after him.

Realizing that Nico was much closer to their side of camp than Zoe was to hers, she quickly tossed the flag to a Hunter and ordered her to take it to their base while she gave chase with the rest of the crowd.

Nico sensed Zoe quickly approaching him and sped up as fast as he could. He did not want to fight Zoe in his current state.

After running for what felt like miles, Nico finally spotted his destination. Beckenford looked startled at all the commotion but soon enough joined in the cheering.

Nico was pretty tire by now, but he wouldn't let his exhaustion show. He's been through hell, literally, so he wasn't going to stop in the middle of some measly capture the flag game.

So with that thought in mind, Nico sped up once again but stumbled when Zoe sprung out of nowhere and landed in front of his path. He was surrounded on all sides by Hunters and campers. They once again engaged in combat and this time, Nico didn't see any gaps he could go through.

Zoe was slowly approaching him, her hand reaching for the flag he was clutching. He couldn't see Percy or Thalia, though he could sense them.

"Thou hast done well, but this stops now."

She launched herself at him and Nico stopped thinking.

He slammed his hands on the ground and then he shot up like a bullet, a column of earth propelling him up in the air and way above the gaping group of demigods.

The force was so great the Nico managed to get launched right where his base was stationed at. He let the column of earth drop and he landed in a roll right where Beckenford was stationed.

Nico stood up shakily and looked around himself. All previous activity had been stopped and Nico just noticed Chiron and Grover at the edge of the clearing. He barely managed to conceal his grimace when he arrived to the conclusion that Chiron will most likely end up grilling him about that little display back there.

Aside from that, Nico realized that he had just won the first Capture the Flag game against the Hunters. He looked at the people assembled before him. They were still gaping at him in stunned silence. Zoe had turned an interesting shade of purple that almost had Nico giggling.

Before long, a lone demigod began clapping. Soon enough, the whole clearing was filled with cheering and clapping demigods.

Nico was suddenly hoisted up on the shoulders of a few Apollo kids. He almost lashed out at them when they began to bounce him up and down.

"Nico man, you did it!"

He looked down and saw Percy and Grover grinning up at him. He grinned in return when he finally allowed himself to feel the rush of victory. He bumped fists with them as much as he could, considering he was still being jostled around by campers.

He sought out a face in the crowd and smiled uncontrollably when he spotted his sister. He laughed at her annoyed expression as she picked small twigs from her hair.

Chiron soon joined the celebration. He came up to Nico and placed his hand on Nico's shoulder. "Nico di Angelo, you did a great job." He looked like a proud father and it was weirding Nico out. He nodded at him and grinned a bit.

The centaur turned to the lieutenant of Artemis, who had gathered around all her Hunters—even the one he had pushed in the ditch, Nico noted when she sent him a scathing glare.

Zoe went up to them and shook hands with Chiron.

"Good game," she let out grudgingly.

As wise and mature as Chiron seemed, that didn't stop him from looking like a preening peacock.

"Yes, it was indeed a great game."

Zoe sniffed and walked away with all the dignity she could muster.

Chiron turned to him again and said, "Congratulations again Nico, but could you tell me how you managed to move the earth?"

Nico's grin froze in place as his mind raced to come up with an excuse. He was just glad he didn't shadow-travel instead of moving the earth. That would surely have him prodded more insistently and not to mention, his dad would know he was able to use the shadow realm and demand an explanation.

"I, uh…I'm not sure."

Chiron seemed dubious but didn't get the chance to question him further.

Nico swiveled his head to stare at what was a sight he was expecting, yet still felt slightly disturbed at.

The mummy of the Oracle of Delphi came staggering to the middle of the celebration.

Nico saw some campers shuffle back fearfully while other simply gaped in shock.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. "It . . . she has never left the attic. Never."

No one dared move. Then her voice hissed inside Nico's head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.

 _I am the spirit of Delphi_ , the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python._

The Oracle regarded Percy with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoë Nightshade. _Approach, Seeker, and ask_.

Zoë swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Nico saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

 _Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

 _One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

 _The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

 _Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

 _The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

 _And one shall perish by a parent's hand_.

And then, instead of dropping like Nico knew the Oracle should have done, she turned her gaze towards Nico and stared. Nico swallowed nervously, a sense of foreboding dancing across his being. She rasped _Child of Time_ before collapsing in the creek.

It was silent for a while. If the Fates visiting his dreams were not enough of a hint, this sure as hell was. Nico needed to act, and fast.

Chiron sighed, his tail shifting anxiously. "Cabin counselors and Hunters, we need to have a gathering at the Big House."

Nico tried to discreetly sneak away. "You too, Nico."

Nico froze and looked back at Chiron. The centaur's determined face told Nico he wasn't going to sneak out of this. Nico sighed resignedly and followed after him.

He was _not_ looking forward to this.


End file.
